Peter S. Amenta

Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD is currently Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Amenta, received his Bachelor of Science degree from Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut. He completed his Medical Degree and Pathology residency at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA, where he also obtained a PhD in Anatomy and initiated his studies on the pathobiology of the connective tissues in the laboratory of Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, MD. He was the Pathology Course Director (at Hahnemann University Medical School). At Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and University Hospital (the primary affiliate), over a twenty year span, he served in a number of administrative roles including Chief of the Pathology and Laboratory Service, Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief of Staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Chief of Performance Improvement.

A member of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) faculty since 1989, he served as Residency Program Director and Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine from 1998 - 2008. In addition, he was the founding Director of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s Immunohistochemistry Shared Resource and a member of the Institute’s Scientific Council and Internal Advisory Board. He eventually served as dean from 2006 - 2014.

Dr. Amenta is an expert electron microscopist and immunohistochemist. His studies have contributed to our understanding of the tissue localization, inter-relationships and potential role of a number of novel connective tissue components during development and in normal and pathologic tissue. His major clinical interest is in the study of gastrointestinal diseases. He has collaborated with investigators nationally and has contributed to a number of grant-funded projects. He has served on the Editorial Board of Human Pathology and as an invited reviewer for numerous other journals. He has published more than 150 articles, chapters and abstracts, publishing extensively on the pathobiology of novel components of the extracellular matrix and the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal diseases, including Barrett’s Esophagus. He is the co-editor of textbook Histology-From Normal Microanatomy to Pathology.

On October 21, 2008 Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD was named Dean of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, after serving as Interim Dean for more than two years. During his tenure as dean, the institution restructured its basic science departmental organization around scientific disciplines of the investigators, experienced a 30% increase in clinical revenue, restructured and modernized its clinical practice, recruited key faculty to signature programs, implemented a state-of-the-art electronic health record, modernized its curriculum, expanded its community-based clinical sites, developed the Child Health Institute of New Jersey as the key research arm of the premier academic pediatric campus in the state of New Jersey, dedicated the Cardiovascular Institute, and transitioned the Medical School from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey into Rutgers University. He serves as a board member of the Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey.